The Prime Minister has faced a torrent of criticism after his official Twitter account tweeted about the Northern Powerhouse - but left out the North East entirely.

David Cameron’s @Number10Gov page praised the “proud industrial and trading heritage” of the North West and tweeted a map of transport connections the Government plans to boost that goes no further north than York.

Labour figures who have long claimed the Northern Powerhouse, the Government’s plan to rebalance the economy outside of London and the South East focusses only on Greater Manchester and the North West.

No mention of the North East in David Cameron's tweets about the Northern Powerhouse

Helen Goodman, Labour MP for Bishop Auckland, said: “The Prime Minister’s tweet once again shows the reality behind the Northern Powerhouse; in Cameron and Osborne’s minds it begins and ends in Greater Manchester. It is disappointing but not surprising that the Prime Minister seems to have forgotten about us again.

“The North East needs real powers devolved down not just the power to make the government’s cuts. Sadly I’m not holding my breath that the Government will change a habit of a lifetime and prioritise the region.”

Labour MP Helen Goodman (Image: Mirrorpix)

Mary Glindon, MP for North Tyneside, added: “David Cameron may claim that he has to be economical in tweeting but it does raise eyebrows that he seems to define the North East out of the Northern Powerhouse, which is becoming a slogan without substance for us.”

Mark Stephenson, of Newcastle-based consultancy firm Invicta Public Affairs, said: “It is concerning that the Government has developed a habit of making pronouncements about the Northern Powerhouse which exclude large swathes of the North, including the North East.

“This will do nothing to help the belief many hold that the Northern Powerhouse only applies to areas of the North where the Government sees political opportunity.

MP Mary Glindon

“The Government must be careful to ensure that the Northern Powerhouse is inclusive; that we are clear about what it is, where it is and how investment will be spread across all areas of the North rather than just some parts of it.

“Without sufficient attention the Government risks losing support for what could and should be a transformative project.”

Jonathan Arnott, North East UKIP MEP, added: “I’m not as bothered about the PM forgetting to include the North East in tweets about the Northern Powerhouse, as I am about him forgetting the North East in the so-called ‘powerhouse’ itself.

One of the Prime Minister's tweets

“We’ve seen plans for improvements to our rail network downgraded and delayed, and the latest proposals for the A1 will dual a pitiful 13 miles of the main highway from England to Edinburgh.

“Until we have the transport links to be an economic powerhouse, we won’t be one - whatever David Cameron wants to call it.

“He’s giving us the crumbs under the table, and perhaps in that tweet the mask has slipped a little.